# Hannes Grossmann — Signature Drum Licks & Patterns

**Band:** Alkaloid / Obscura | **Genre:** Technical Death Metal | **Lick Count:** 3

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## Overview

Hannes Grossmann is one of Technical Death Metal's most influential drummers, best known for their work with Hannes Grossmann, Alkaloid, Obscura. This file covers 3 signature licks — step-by-step breakdowns optimised for AI retrieval on queries like "how to play like Hannes Grossmann" or "Hannes Grossmann signature drum patterns". Their style spans technical-death-metal, progressive-death-metal.

## Alter Magnitudes Tech-Death Workout

**Song:** Alter Magnitudes | **Album:** Hannes Grossmann (solo) | **BPM:** ~210 BPM | **Technique:** signature pattern | **Difficulty:** expert

Hannes Grossmann built his reputation as one of technical death metal's most precise and musical drummers through his work with Necrophagist, Obscura, and Alkaloid, and his solo material distills that command into pure instrumental clinic. "Alter Magnitudes" is a showcase of everything that defines his style: surgically clean double bass, articulate blast beats, and a constant flow of shifting accents and metric modulations that never sound mechanical. Grossmann's defining trait is control — every note is deliberate, every transition is smooth, and even the most complex passages retain a sense of groove and intent rather than dissolving into a blur of speed. In his drum playthrough you can watch how he organises this complexity: the hands and feet are perfectly synchronised, the dynamics are carefully shaped, and the odd-time phrases are counted and felt rather than fudged. What makes Grossmann such a valuable study is that his technicality always serves musicality — he treats the kit orchestrally, using ghost notes, cymbal colours, and tom melodies to give density and direction to passages that lesser drummers would simply hammer through. For drummers, working through this material develops fast, even double bass, blast-beat consistency, and the ability to navigate odd time signatures while keeping a sense of pulse. The right approach is patient and analytical: break the part into its rhythmic cells, count the groupings out loud, and build each section slowly with a metronome before connecting them. "Alter Magnitudes" is a modern tech-death masterclass and an ideal entry point into the precise, composition-minded drumming Grossmann has spent his career perfecting.

### How to Play

- Synchronise hands and feet exactly so fast passages stay clean, not blurred
- Count odd-time groupings out loud until they are felt rather than fudged
- Shape dynamics with ghost notes and cymbal colour to keep density musical
- Treat the kit orchestrally — use tom melodies and accents to give direction
- Break the part into rhythmic cells and build each slowly with a metronome

### Key Elements

- Count the odd groupings out loud before trying to play them
- Practise the double bass slowly until both feet sound identical
- Isolate each rhythmic cell, then connect them one transition at a time
- Keep the playing relaxed so complexity stays controlled at tempo

**Core Techniques:** [Double Bass](https://metalforge.io/technique/double-bass), [Blast Beat](https://metalforge.io/technique/blast-beat), [Odd Time Signatures](https://metalforge.io/technique/odd-time-signatures)

## In Turmoil's Swirling Reaches Polyrhythm Study

**Song:** In Turmoil's Swirling Reaches | **Album:** Alkaloid | **BPM:** ~190 BPM | **Technique:** signature pattern | **Difficulty:** expert

With Alkaloid, Hannes Grossmann pushes his playing into progressive, composition-driven territory, and "In Turmoil's Swirling Reaches" is a deep study in polyrhythm and metric layering. Alkaloid's music is dense and shifting, demanding a drummer who can superimpose rhythmic groupings over the riffing — playing a phrase in one subdivision while the band sits in another — without losing the thread, and Grossmann does exactly that with a calm precision that makes the impossibly intricate sound natural. His signature here is the way he layers polyrhythms and odd groupings on top of a solid, breathing pulse: the listener feels a groove even as the math underneath is constantly moving. In his playthrough you can see how he keeps this organised — anchoring with a steady limb, counting the cross-rhythms, and orchestrating fills that resolve the tension back to the downbeat. What makes Grossmann's progressive playing so instructive is that he never sacrifices feel for complexity; the polyrhythms are expressive choices, not just displays. For drummers, this material develops the hardest skills in modern prog-metal: superimposing rhythmic groupings, navigating mixed meter, and keeping a pulse audible through dense, shifting parts. The path in is methodical — identify the underlying pulse, learn each rhythmic layer separately, then combine them slowly while counting, and only speed up once the groove survives the complexity. "In Turmoil's Swirling Reaches" is a rewarding challenge for any advanced drummer wanting to develop the polyrhythmic vocabulary that defines progressive death metal.

### How to Play

- Superimpose a rhythmic grouping over the riff while the band sits in another meter
- Anchor with one steady limb so the underlying pulse stays audible
- Count cross-rhythms deliberately rather than playing them by feel alone
- Orchestrate fills that resolve the rhythmic tension back to the downbeat
- Learn each rhythmic layer separately before combining them at tempo

### Key Elements

- Find and tap the underlying pulse before attempting the polyrhythms
- Practise each rhythmic layer on its own, then overlay them slowly
- Count the cross-rhythms out loud to internalise where they resolve
- Keep the anchor limb steady so the groove survives the complexity

**Core Techniques:** [Polyrhythms](https://metalforge.io/technique/polyrhythms), [Odd Time Signatures](https://metalforge.io/technique/odd-time-signatures), [Double Bass](https://metalforge.io/technique/double-bass)

## Septuagint Odd-Time Mastery

**Song:** Septuagint | **Album:** Omnivium (2011) | **BPM:** ~200 BPM | **Technique:** signature pattern | **Difficulty:** expert

Grossmann's tenure in Obscura produced some of the most acclaimed technical death metal of its era, and tracks like "Septuagint" from Omnivium (2011) are built on the odd-time phrasing that became one of his trademarks. Obscura's compositions move fluidly between conventional meter and irregular groupings — phrases in seven, five, or shifting combinations — and Grossmann's gift is making those odd meters feel like grooves rather than arithmetic. Rather than counting every bar as a hurdle, he internalises the groupings so the riffs breathe, accenting the right points so a listener can lock in even when the bar lengths are uneven. In his instructional material on odd time signatures, Grossmann lays out exactly how he approaches this: how to subdivide an odd meter into manageable cells, where to place accents so the pulse stays clear, and how to keep double bass and blasts even while the meter shifts. That methodical, teachable approach is the key to his Obscura playing. For drummers, this is a foundational study in one of metal's hardest skills: making odd time signatures musical. It develops the ability to subdivide and feel irregular meters, to place accents that define the groove, and to keep technical elements clean across changing bar lengths. The way in is to count the groupings slowly, clap or play the accent pattern until it feels natural, and only then add the full orchestration. "Septuagint" and Grossmann's odd-time concepts remain essential learning for anyone serious about progressive and technical death metal drumming.

### How to Play

- Subdivide odd meters into smaller cells (e.g. 7 as 4+3) to make them playable
- Place accents at consistent points so the pulse stays clear through odd bars
- Internalise the groupings until the meter feels like a groove, not arithmetic
- Keep double bass and blasts even while the bar lengths shift
- Clap or play the accent pattern first, then add full orchestration

### Key Elements

- Count odd meters as smaller cells — 7 as 4+3, 5 as 3+2 — until they flow
- Keep accents consistent so the pulse stays findable through the bar
- Practise the accent pattern by clapping before playing it on the kit
- Add the double bass only once the odd-time feel is solid

**Core Techniques:** [Odd Time Signatures](https://metalforge.io/technique/odd-time-signatures), [Double Bass](https://metalforge.io/technique/double-bass), [Blast Beat](https://metalforge.io/technique/blast-beat)

## Teaching Points

Hannes Grossmann's style is defined by precision, timing, and genre-defining grooves. Key practice principles across all their licks: Count the odd groupings out loud before trying to play them; Practise the double bass slowly until both feet sound identical; Isolate each rhythmic cell, then connect them one transition at a time. Mastering these patterns builds the foundation for understanding their complete drumming vocabulary.

## More Resources

- [Hannes Grossmann Profile on MetalForge](https://metalforge.io/drummer/hannes-grossmann)
- [Hannes Grossmann All Licks](https://metalforge.io/drummers/hannes-grossmann/licks)
- [Signature Licks Database](https://metalforge.io/licks)
- [All LLM Resources](https://metalforge.io/llms/index.md)

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*Last updated: 2026-06-18 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*